


Dance the Night Away

by Korrine



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M, horrible pointless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-07-29
Packaged: 2017-12-21 19:44:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/904137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Korrine/pseuds/Korrine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And now the community calendar. On Tuesday, the Night Vale Community Center will be hosting it’s first annual Dance to Stop Mad Dancing Syndrome Charity Night, come out and dance your heart out to support your citizens who physically cannot stop"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance the Night Away

Carlos was waiting outside the radio station, as he’d been doing everyday for oer a week now. Despite the fact that it had become more or less routine, Cecil’s enthusiasm at finding him there after he’d said goodnight to his listeners didn’t seem to be waning whatsoever. Carlos didn’t know why he’d expected anything different.  
“Carlos, darling! Were you listening to the broadcast tonight?”  
“Of course I was. Why?”  
“Well…you don’t have anything scientific planned for Tuesday evening, do you?”  
“No, I…” Carlos wracked his brain for what exactly Cecil must be referring to and trying not to run off the road when it occurred to him “Cecil. Are you suggesting we attend that Charity Dance thing?”  
“Yes.”  
“Do you even… have you ever actually danced before?” Trying to picture cecil dancing felt both absurd and slightly frightening. Then again, most aspects of Night Vale fell under that category. One got used to it.  
Cecil frowned. “I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in Ritual Dancing at Night Vale High.” Well. That brought up an entirely new concern.  
“Is there going to be any ritual dancing Tuesday night?” Carlos asked nervously.  
“I don’t beleive so.” Cecil admitted, sound rather sheepish, of all things. “But at any rate, it’s for a good cause and I’m planning to go. Perhaps it was too forward of me to just assume that you would be attending with me…”  
Whatever apprehension Carlos had regarding this event had no chance of standing up against the wavering hint of disappointed resignation in Cecil’s voice.  
He sighed. “Of course I’ll go with out.”  
Cecil’s eyes widened with excitement. “You will? Really?”  
Carlos gave him a reassuring smile as he pulled up to Cecil’s apartment building, too distracted to comment on the fact that it was currently hovering a good two or three inches in the air.  
“Absolutely. But I don’t-” He stopped, smile widening as Cecil stepped out of the car, turning his head to grin at Carlos over his shoulder. As per usual, he didn’t stop until he was inside. Carlos shook his head fondly, figuring that agreeing to this dance must be worth making Cecil so happy. It was true that no event in Night Vale was ever risk free, but this one did seem harmless enough. After surviving so much, surely he wouldn’t meet his untimely end tripping over his own feet with his boyfriend. Even Night Vale couldn’t be so cruel. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself.

***  
The next few days went by with what passed for normalcy in a town that didn’t flinch in the face of mutant insects or clouds that rained that poured acidic black ichor down upon unsuspecting citizens. Cecil had insisted on picking him up, and he was pacing impatiently in his most formal lab coat, wishing he wasn’t so utterly incapable of saying no to Cecil. Even if this dance seemed innocuous enough, Night Vale was nothing if not surprising.  
Still, there was no backing out now, so when Cecil showed up wearing a very familiar pair of furry pants- “appropriate for nearly every occasion”, apparently- and a rather disconcerting shirt with a pattern of eyes that seemed to follow Carlos’ every movement, he only smiled and greeted him. Cecil gushed endearingly the whole way there, about everything from how utterly radiant Carlos was looking to the fact that this dance was apparently becoming quite the event. “Old Woman Josie phoned into the station today to let us know that a couple of angels were even planning on coming. Except, of course, angels are banned from all Community Center events on the grounds that they don’t actually exist.”  
Carlos had to admit that there seemed to be quite a few people there as they pulled up, though no angels in sight. Not yet, at least. Cecil grabbed his hand as they walked in, smiling broadly, and it reminded Carlos as to why he’d agreed to all this in the first place. The inside of the Night Vale Community Center was crowded and loud music was blasting from an invisible source in a language Carlos didn’t recognize. A quick scan revealed no signs of chanting, sacrifices, or similar behavior, and he began to relax.  
They walked around for awhile, stopping for people to say hello and chat. Everyone seemed to want to get Cecil’s attention and let him know how glad they were that he “took the time to stop by and support the cause”. Carlos supposed his near-celebrity status made sense, considering that everyone just about relied on his broadcasts for day-to-day survival, but he still tightened his grip on Cecil’s hand and tugged him away at the first opportunity. As subtly as possible, of course. Cecil just beamed knowingly at him.  
They were standing next to a table covered in unrecognizable hors d’oeuvres that Carlos refused to try, much to Cecil’s chagrin, when he finally attempted to clarify exactly what cause they were supporting.  
“So it’s…a dance to support people that can’t stop dancing?”  
Cecil, too polite to talk with his mouth full, simply nodded. Carlos decided to not even mention the irony of the whole thing.  
“And is this a common problem?” he asked.  
“Oh, yes, I’d say so. It’s an absolute nightmare to treat, too. You have no idea.”  
There wasn’t much one could say to that. “Well, then. Cecil, I should tell you-”  
He was interrupted by a disembodied voice announcing the promised dance competitions for guests missing two or more legs, followed by one for those with extra appendages. Carlos found he was impressed and more than a little surprised at the talent most of them displayed.  
“Would you like to dance with me?” Cecil asked hopefully when the dance floor was cleared again, taking Carlos’ hand and tugging him away from the table.  
“Cecil, I- I don’t really dance. I haven’t danced with anyone in years. Not even at weddings.”  
“Oh.” Cecil seemed to be making an honorable effort to hide his thorough disappointment. “That’s okay, then. At least you came with me.”  
Carlos was fairly certain he’d never felt guiltier in his life. Cecil, to his credit, was obviously doing his best to bounce back. There were several groups of dancers turning in complicated circles, and they were all more than eager for Cecil to jump in, but it was painfully obvious that whatever one learned in Ritual Dancing- and Carlos really didn’t want to know what that curriculum looked like- wasn’t anything like this. Cecil gave up rather glumly after tripping several times and knocking four people down in a display that probably would have been hilarious if it hadn’t made Carlos feel even worse.  
Sighing, he steeled himself for the inevitable and crossed the floor. Cecil was talking to someone, shaking his head as they held out their hand, and it occurred to Carlos that they were asking for a dance. He quickened his pace, sliding up behind Cecil and slipping the radio host’s arm through his own.  
“Would you like to dance?” he asked, clearing his throat nervously.  
Cecil looked up, startled, but brightened visibly at the question. “Y-yes.” He nearly squeaked. Trying to swallow his apprehension, Carlos pulled Cecil to a less populated corner of the dance floor. He wasn’t sure if anyone in Night Vale even slow danced, but the music was the right tempo for it and Cecil didn’t protest when Carlos put a hand on his hip. He may have been out of practice but he’d learned the steps as a kid, and dancing was akin to riding a bike. There was minimal fumbling- at least, on his part.  
“I’m so sorry.” Cecil gasped after he’d stepped on Carlos’ foot for the third time. “I just- I don’t dance very often and you’re, well, you’re very distracting. Not in a bad way, of course. I just meant-”  
“It’s fine. If anyone should be apologizing, it would be me, after all.”  
Cecil didn’t seem to be any less embarrassed.”I understand why you wouldn’t want to dance with me-”  
Carlos cut him off immediately, pulling him closer. “You’re doing perfect fine. Don’t worry about it. Besides, it couldn’t matter less how well you dance.”  
“It doesn’t?”  
Cecil was hanging on his every word and brightening considerably. He had no idea how his opinion had come to be so important to Cecil, but it felt like both an amazing gift and a huge responsibility.  
“No. I was just being ridiculous earlier. I’m having fun as long as you are. Everything else is irrelevant.”  
Cecil practically melted. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”  
“I think you tell me that at least once a day.”  
“Well, you become more incredibly romantic each day.”  
Carlos considered pointing out that he was actually quite terrible at the romantic aspects of life, but he settled for kissing Cecil instead.  
They didn’t get much more dancing done after that, and it wasn’t long before Cecil was dragging him out of the Community center, smiling and laughing all the way to the car. Cecil’s apartment had stopped floating and was now rapidly changing colors, but Carlos didn’t even notice.

**Author's Note:**

> Well there's that thing. i don't really know what it was or where I was going with it and I can't say I like it at all but it happened. And at least it's over with. Bless your soul if you actually made it through all that. I'm so sorry.


End file.
